Shark Person

You have faced the power of the Shark Person!

The notification sound of Ren Tu echoed in his ears.

Black ripples suddenly surged in Chen Jin's eyes; Glance of the Startled Swan had been activated!

The Shark Person, also known as Quan Ke or Quan Xian.

A water-dwelling race, shaped like humans with brows, eyes, mouths, noses, hands, and claws, they appear as beautiful women with skin as white as jade and hair like horse tails, six or seven feet long. They weave silk, wide as a bolt, light, bright, and clean like cicada wings, known as Shark Silk, or Dragon Gauze.

In Search of the Supernatural, Volume 12: "Beyond the South Sea are Shark People; they live in water like fish and never cease their weaving. When they weep, their tears become pearls."

Threat Level: Light Red

Note: The Shark Person is truly a treasure from head to toe. Not to mention their tears becoming pearls or their ability to weave water into silk, it is rumored that the First Emperor used a vast amount of Shark Person oil in his Imperial Mausoleum for lamps that would burn forever without extinguishing.

Chen Jin smiled radiantly, pushed open the wooden door, and stepped aside to clear the path: "Curfew is almost here; the streets aren't safe. Little sister, don't stand in the rain. Come in and warm up."

When twilight fell upon the banks of the Wei River, the layered eaves of Xianyang Palace were already soaked in the setting sun.

The palaces atop the North Slope were like dormant giant beasts, built upon a foundation of blue-gray rammed earth. The base, rising several zhang, was chiseled by craftsmen with diamond-shaped patterns, and every bluestone step leading up was polished smooth as jade—a metaphor for the "square, orderly, and lethal" nature of Qin law.

In the dim palace chamber, candlelight flickered. A man dressed in black deep robes, looking like an Alchemist, sat opposite a burly, powerful man with an aura like a tiger, a chessboard between them. The burly man's position was already precarious, being driven into a corner by his opponent, with beads of sweat faintly visible on his temples.

He suddenly closed his eyes, opened them a moment later, and tossed the chess piece in his hand, which made a crisp sound as he changed the subject: "A little fish just killed a merchant and a middleman."

The Alchemist opposite him looked surprised: "Carriers, boatmen, innkeepers, and middlemen—even if they were innocent, they deserved to die. Merchants are even lower-class; why would you care about them? You aren't trying to stall for time, are you? No need for that; you can just concede."

"That's not the right way to put it. Under the vast sky, all are the King's subjects. Since they are all subjects of His Majesty, we can't just let a beast kill them like that, can we?"

"Is there a report? If someone reports it, we handle it; if not, we let it be. If the people don't complain, the officials don't investigate. Are you worried you aren't busy enough?"

The burly man sighed gloomily: "Sigh... it has been truly too busy lately. The Ling Canal is complete, Nanyue has submitted, and you have actually returned from the Immortal Mountains. Even Xu Fu, who is most highly regarded by His Majesty, is said to be returning from the east... With so many major events converging, I feel inexplicably uneasy."

Hearing this, the Alchemist didn't even lift his head, focusing only on the chessboard with a detached tone: "The Zhou proverb says: 'He who observes the fish in the deep pool is unlucky; he who calculates the hidden is doomed.' Some things are not a blessing to see too clearly. Just do your part and mine; why worry so much?"

He gently placed a piece with a soft "clack." "Play, let's play."

The girl stepped over the threshold timidly, her wet hair trailing on the ground, leaving a streak of water.

She lowered her head to cover her face, appearing shy or perhaps shivering from the cold.

But the moment she fully stepped into the courtyard—

The situation changed instantly!

She jerked her head up, her pupils shrinking into thin lines, and an inhuman, ghostly blue luster surged in the depths of her eyes.

Her originally delicate face twisted like a beast's, her lips curling back to reveal two rows of dense, needle-like sharp teeth!

"Hiss-ha!"

She let out a piercing shriek that sounded nothing like a human. The clothes on her arms ripped apart with a "tear," and her elbow joints bent backward in a grotesque fashion, popping out two pale fish fins as thin as cicada wings but sharp and menacing, their edges flashing with metallic cold light.

At the same time, she flicked her wrists, drawing two translucent short blades that seemed to be condensed from flowing water, and lunged straight at Chen Jin's face with a fishy stench!

The attack was sudden, but Chen Jin had already anticipated it.

His reaction was as fast as lightning; he avoided the direct thrust with an agile side-slide, simultaneously lowering his body and center of gravity to assume a combat stance.

The Shark Person's strike missed, and the twin blades swept horizontally, aiming for his waist and abdomen!

Instead of retreating, Chen Jin moved forward, cutting into her inner circle with a close-quarters sway. His left hand parried and braced her wrist, while his right fist delivered a swift, powerful uppercut to her jaw!

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the Shark Person's head snapped back, and she let out an angry hiss, her fins slicing toward Chen Jin's neck like blades!

Chen Jin ducked to avoid it, simultaneously sweeping his leg low to attack her supporting leg.

The Shark Person stumbled, used the momentum to spin, and unleashed a flurry of stabs like a violent storm. Her moves were vicious and tricky, completely unlike any human martial art.

Chen Jin's heart was as still as water, his eyes as cold as ice.

70% Proficiency in Freestyle Combat!

Parries, neck clinches, elbow strikes, knee strikes...

Amidst the sound of rain, the sounds of flesh colliding, blades cutting through the air, and beast-like roars were incessant.

Unable to land a hit after a long assault, the Shark Person's blue eyes flickered. She suddenly feinted, her aura instantly retracting and becoming erratic.

Her figure flickered, and she actually merged into the thickening rain curtain, her presence almost completely vanishing.

"Whoosh!"

A water blade shot out from the rain curtain to Chen Jin's left!

Chen Jin avoided it with a tactical side-roll, leaving a deep gouge in the ground where he had been standing.

Immediately after, from the right, from behind... attacks came from all directions. The Shark Person used the heavy rain to perfectly conceal her form, launching sneak attacks with blades condensed from raindrops. Whether a strike hit or missed, it immediately dissipated into water, leaving nothing to catch.

Chen Jin focused his senses. He already had several deep scratches on his body, which were healing rapidly.

His thoughts raced, and he intentionally left a flaw, letting his defense lag for a split second, exposing his neck.

As expected—!

In the next instant, amidst the dense curtain of rain, the Shark Person's figure coalesced like a phantom, lunging forward with a pungent, fishy stench as its maw, lined with jagged teeth, snapped viciously toward Chen Jin's throat!

"Snap!" The sharp teeth pierced skin and flesh, even grazing the bone!

Yet, there was no trace of pain on Chen Jin's face. Instead, the moment the creature clamped down, his arms slammed shut like iron pincers!

With a standard grappling throw, he locked the Shark Person's body tight, pinning it firmly against his chest!

The Shark Person was struck with terror, struggling frantically.

The fins on its elbows sliced wildly into Chen Jin's arms and ribs, leaving wounds deep enough to expose bone, but before the blood could even gush out, the flesh began to squirm and knit itself back together.

Another water blade stabbed repeatedly into Chen Jin's waist and abdomen, but it was like piercing tough gelatin; unable to inflict a fatal wound, the gashes sealed up rapidly the moment the blade was withdrawn.

To Chen Jin, all this damage was nothing more than a mild itch.

Fear finally flickered in the Shark Person's eyes. It jerked its head back, breaking free from Chen Jin's throat, and opened its tooth-filled mouth to unleash a shrill, piercing shriek!

"Eee—yah—!!!"

The sound tore through the rain, pierced the night sky, and echoed across the entire district.

Almost simultaneously, high above in the sky, those countless hovering "Law Eyes" seemed disturbed by the noise, their indifferent gazes shifting ever so slightly.

The Identity Tablet at Chen Jin's waist grew warm, and a line of small text flickered into view before vanishing:

[Disturbing the peace late at night, fined twenty Spirit Coins.]